Finally, carriers are making it easier to block unwanted text messages…

If you are a Verizon customer:

Click on the Block Unwanted Text Messages option and follow the instructions.

Rating B+ The service is free. You can apply the block from a Verizon store, your computer or your device. The process is simple: If you are text savvy, then you’ll be able to apply this fix very easily. Verizon’s blocking service allows you to block individual numbers, emails, and website that have been spamming you. Verizon offers additional strategies to help you avoid text spam. One small drawback: You can only block 5 numbers at a time.

If you are a T-Mobile customer:

T-Mobile’s service is called Family Allowance. It costs $4.99 per month and blocks up to 10 numbers per account. If you have a family plan, every family member can block 10 numbers. It also has some controlling features to limit usage of text, talk, and web. Your teens may not like it; but you can set time limits for your teens – like not allowing them to receive calls after a certain time at night.

Rating C- The C- rating is for the time and work it took to find out what the Family Allowance Plan does. T-Mobile needs to get their customer service reps up to speed and the information on their site needs to be simplified. It appears that their service will provide you with ample blocking abilities.

If you are an ATT customer:

Rating A ATT is leading the pack with their service call Smart Controls. Robust controls for all sorts of situation. You can block unwanted callers and texts. You can set limits your teens – like not allowing them to receive calls after a certain time at night. The instructions are clear on the webpage with an overview, features, costs, and notes flowing smoothly for any customer to understand. You can have up to 30 numbers blocked. You can block both wireless lines and landlines. The one small drawback is that ATT’s Smart Controls service is $4.99 per month. I believe this service should be included in your plan, especially if you have a family plan. But again, this is a huge step in the right direction. Good job, ATT.

If you are a Sprint customer:

Rating A- Sprint also is leading the pack. Their blocking service is free with up to 50 numbers blocked for spam text and emails. There is an unlimited numbers you can block for calling. The customer rep said that a Sprint customer can log into their account and set up the blocks or just call into customer service and they will help you 888-211-4727

Remember that Re-Use is a component of Recycling

If you are upgrading your cell phone and your friend or family member wants your old iPhone 3 or your Samsung Galaxy v.1 (or even that old Moto Razr!) that totally counts as recycling. Pat yourself on the back and tell everyone to call you “Green.” The point here is that you don’t have to send your device away to a program. You can just give it to someone you know. Cells for Cells is the back-up plan if nobody wants to use your old device.

Have a contest among friends or co-workers

Cells for Cells always encourages companies to have an employee collection drive once or twice per year. Make it fun. Challenge other managers or office friends to bring in the most old cell phones from home. The winner should have his / her lunch bought by everyone else! Ferrellgas Propane had an East Coast VP versus West Coast VP and the “losing” VP (the one that collected the least devices) had to wear a pink flamingo hat and have his picture taken for all of the world to see. If your company is going to run a Cells for Cells drive, have a ton of fun doing it.

Ask your next-door neighbor

Your neighbor probably has as many old cell phones as you do. The cell phone industry is still suggesting that EVERYBODY in the US has 3 or 4 old devices laying around. It gives you a chance to get to know your neighbors a little better and, in turn, your neighbors will recognize you as a resource for recycling. And you’ll introduce the Cells for Cells story to someone new. Thank you for that!

Go straight to your junk drawer at home

Oh, the junk drawer! 9 out of 10 American homes have a junk drawer. (I made that statistic up to help this blog post.) I bet you’ll find at least 2 old cell phones, 7 old chargers, 3 old batteries, Tic Tacs, dominoes, and an Andes mint from the last time you went to The Olive Garden.

What is in your filing / storage cabinet at work

We have a partner here in Kansas City that opened up their double-door storage cabinet with neat rows of boxes: 2003, 2004, 2005, etc… In each box was that year’s old and broken cell phones. The wireless manager wanted to recycle all of it; but hadn’t yet found a place were he wanted to recycle. He liked the Cells for Cells story and we made his day by clearing up a ton of space for him.

Do you ave any peers that are “Wireless Managers”

I love Wireless Managers (WM’s). They are, by far, the best allies for Cells for Cells. These are the folks that truly keep a company’s workforce in synch. Most of the WM’s that I know are super awesome at troubleshooting and creative problem solving. I admire their abilities. If you happen to know a WM, especially if they bailed you out of a Blackberry or Smartphone problem in the past, you should take them out to lunch! You may even do your WM a favor by telling them about Cells for Cells.

Talk to the President of your company

Every company wants to do better at being green; but lack the time to start implementing those green ideas. You can be a hero in your company by initiating a conversation about recycling with the President of your company. Commit to spearheading any new green programs from providing paper recycling on every floor to running the Cells for Cells drives. You know who you are. You are the one that wants to make those small changes that, over time, make big differences. And that is what you are about: Making a difference!

Keep promises to yourself about recycling more

Okay, it is still early enough in 2012 that all of your New Year’s Promises are fresh in your mind. If you are like most, odds are that you made some promises to yourself about doing more for the environment. Some of your promises may have been doing better at recycling electronics or being mindful of where my trash ends up. I hope that Cells for Cells aligns with some of your promises to make the world a little greener this year.

We received a handful of Blackberry 9000’s to recycle and they looked like someone took pliers to the back in an attempt to “destroy” the data. I can’t imagine a scenario where this is the solution to making a device “secure”. And, it should be concerning the the IT or Wireless manager in charge because this did nothing to the device except pull off the protective covers to the printed circuit board (PCB). Just about anyone with some know-how and a few basic forensic tools could pull data off of this device.

So here are some tips to help you with your data security concerns.

1. I verified with both Sprint and RIM that when you

Master Reset a Blackberry, it defaults to factory settings and erases all data. Nothing will remain, with the exception of the Operating System (OS). Or, if you are a super geek, just use jl_cmder. (Curious? Google is your friend here.)

2. Always, always, always remove your SIM and SD

chips before you recycle your device. Even though your IT or Wireless manager can set your devices to not store any info or pictures on your SD card; you should still remove it.

3. Sometimes a Blackberry won’t power on because the

battery has died. The telltale sign is that the battery is swollen or puffy. Snag a new battery from friend or co-worker to test if this is your issue.

4. HULK SMASH!

You’ve just run over / stepped on / chucked your Blackberry and your screen is bleeding and/or dead. You are unable to read the screen to verify that you are taking the correct steps to wipe or clear it. Well, that is what your Blackberry Desktop Manager is for.

5. Okay, but what if the usb port is dead?

Try a Bluetooth solution for data and if power is the issue, try the Blackberry Power Station or an extra battery. (I am not going into detail; but you can at http://forums.crackberry.com/.)

6. Remote Kill

I’ll let you read this PCMag article that references all the different smart phone types and services that can remotely wipe or clear said device.

7. What about worst-case scenarios?

The screen is dead, the usb port is dead, and I can’t get any power? (Also, you just got back from Las Vegas and Amsterdam and you don’t remember much! Well, take a look at the location of the on-board memory in the 9000. Do you see the Mobile DDR blinking at the bottom of the picture? Aim your drill bit right there and permanently “erase” your Blackberry.

In most cases, Google is your friend. How-to guides for doing just about any modification, recovery, or data clearing is as easy as Google. And as long as you aren’t doing anything illegal, unethical, or just downright gross; then what “security concerns” should you have?

Used cell phones are a commodity that constantly drop in value. If your company supports any charity through cell phone recycling, the quicker you get them recycled, the more money you will raise for your charity.

Cell Phone Recycling Values are Always Dropping

Since we began Cells for Cells in 2007, it has happened 4 times: In less than 30 days, a series of cell phones have lost more than 90 percent of their value. We are aware that this happens, but it is always shocking when it does.

This massive drop in value usually happens when a major carriers ends its support of a certain model or models of cell phones.

If you are one of the millions of Americans that have cell phone insurance – through your provider – chances are that you will be issued a refurbished cell phone if you are unlucky enough to run over or drop in a snow drift or have your dog eat your cell phone.

Most refurbished cell phones come from recycling programs just like Cells for Cells. Cell phones are collected, the memory is flashed (cleared of data and new software installed), the phone is repaired or repainted, sold back to the carrier and then given to you through your insurance claim.

It really is an outstanding re-use model – just like the path that used-cars/pre-owned cars take.

And, today’s cell phone marketplace is flooding with iPhone copy-cats that have touch-screens, movie players and coffee makers (there’s an app for that). So as more and more cell phones or communication devices come to the market, it becomes a never-ending cascade of diminishing values for the cell phones in the recycling world. And if the recycling world is giving less to the recyclers; then the recyclers end up giving less to the charity. That’s a bit of a bummer.

So what can you do today to make a difference?

Get your cell phones to your recycler today. No matter what program you support – whether it is Cells for Cells or another worthy cause – timely recycling will create the maximum benefit your charity.

Did you know that every single used cell phone, no matter the condition, can be recycled.

Yup, even this cell phone, that was chewed on by a very hungry dog, can be recycled.

(On a side note: I always laugh when I see a phone like this come in. There is probably a really funny story behind it.

So, I looked for a link to a funny dog drool or dog slobber picture; but the search made my stomach queezy and now I can’t un-see those photos.)

Moving on…

Cell phones are the most value-dense electronics commodity on the planet. Approximately half of all cell phones that Cells for Cells collects end up at Umicore in Belgium. Umicore is the world’s largest recycler of precious metals from electronic scrap – including mobile phones. Umicore “is one of the most efficient [recyclers] worldwide and is able to recycle 17 metals, of which seven are precious metals.”

Cells for Cells collects any cell phone, from any carrier, in any condition:

Today, pretty much every phone has some sort of REMOVE-able storage – so remove it before you donate or recycle your device. That pretty much will cover all of the security concerns you may have.

2. Do a little planning on the front end when getting your new cell phone…

as most Americas update or change cell phones every 18 months. Point all of your storage (photos, music, phonebook) to your sim or sd chip. All of the “how to’s” will be in your new owner’s manual.

3. If you are one of those that are super concerned with security of your data, just master reset or master clear your device.

It has become so easy to reset or master clear your phone. If you’ve kept your instruction manual, the steps will outlined. If you don’t have your manual, there are hundreds or thousands of DIY videos all over the interwebs – most just a few minutes long. Here are ours: How to Clear My Blackberry and How to Clear My Treo.

4. Find a cause that is bigger than just recycling.

Cells for Cells recycles cells phones to help families that are battling cancer. Another great example of a recycling programs that does more than just recycle is Cell Phones for Soldiers. With a solid purpose behind your efforts, more people will follow you and you end up doing more. And if you are passionate about a cause that is not Cells for Cells, don’t let that stop you from recycling.

5. Influence others to join you.

It is commonly accepted that cell phone recycling rates remain in the single digits. So recycle more than one phone at a time. Buddy Up with co-workers and friends that are inclined to recycle and get your place of employment behind you. It is way more exciting to work with your co-workers and friends for your cause (See #4). Fill a giant box with cell phones to recycle. Make a bigger difference for your cause. (Oh, by the way, you know that little plastic baggie that comes with new cell phones – IGNORE IT. It encourages people who want to recycle – to just recycle one phone – and that is not you, right?)

6. The phone, battery and charger do not have to match.

Most recyclers separate the components, anyway. So don’t worry if you have cells to recycle without the batteries or chargers – it all recycles just the same.

7. Use free shipping if your program offers it – but don’t let it hold you back…

from recycling if your program does not offer to pay for your shipping. Keep in mind that Cells for Cells wants you to recycle at least 25 cell phones before we send you a pre-paid FedEx label. (Anyone still use the word “gumption“? As in, “It is easy for me to collect more than 25 cell phones for recycling, because I have gumption.”)

8. Be a giver.

Just get your old cell phone out of your office drawer or closet and give it to a program that helps others. Give a little of your time to help promote collecting cell phones in your office. You be the person to print off the poster “Battle Cancer with a Cell Phone” and hang it in your breakroom. You be the person that calls FedEx to pick up the box of (more than) 25 cells you and your office buddies collected. You be the person that helped a family that is battling cancer.